Web Comments Go Universal With Google Sidewiki

As if Google doesn’t lord over enough of the Internet already, the search giant is introducing Sidewiki, a tool that could obliterate Web page comments as we know them. As part of Google Toolbar, which can be installed with Firefox and Internet Explorer, Sidewiki lets people comment on any Web page, and the remarks appear in a sidebar when you visit that page. So unlike traditional Web comment sections, which are often directed towards one article on a site, Sidewiki can include comments about a newspaper’s home page, or about a page that doesn’t allow comments at all. Google arranges the order of posts by “the most useful, high-quality entries,” as opposed to chronological order. In other words, trolls and caps lock addicts will be banished, while the search engine optimization-savvy will reign. [Official Google Blog via PaidContent]